FEAT GET RUNNER-UP SLOT IN FIFE BUSINESS AWARDS
Whilst we picked up the top prize at the Centre for Social Justice Awards at the beginning of March, we couldn't make it 2 out of 2 unfortunately as we came runner-up in the Fife Business Awards 2019. The ceremony took place on 29 March and our category (Excellence in Creativity and Innovation) was won by John Young Signs.
Alan Mitchell, CEO of Fife Chamber of Commerce and one of the judges this year, says, "I want to congratulate FEAT on being a finalist at the 2019 Fife Business Awards. I know that nothing I can say will change any disappointment you may be feeling because you didn’t win but you should not lose sight of the fact that FEAT is doing amazing things that are worthy of celebration.
You had the courage to apply when most didn’t and you demonstrated excellence to be shortlisted. You should be very proud. I hope that your application will inspire many others to come forward in the future, and I hope that it will not deter you from applying with the same passion and determination in 2020.
I have no doubt that you will continue to enjoy great success and everyone at Fife Chamber wishes you nothing but the very best. "
Pictured are FEAT staff at the Ceremony (left-to-right) Toni Clark, Wendy Barbour and Elaine Richards.
WE ARE HIRING!
Team Leader sought for the Employ your Mind project
FEAT's vision is to enable and support individuals to reach their full positive mental wellbeing in a culture where there is no stigma. Employing an inclusive, non-judgemental approach to prepare, support and empower people to flourish by managing their mental health for life - whatever life does, by: providing service users with strategies and tools to improve their resilience and employability, creating safe, nurturing, supportive and compassionate environments to encourage personal growth, developing strategic partnerships with complementary and diverse organisations that share our vision, working with others to eliminate the stigma on mental health in the workplace and communities, supporting the welfare and continuous professional development of staff and volunteers so they may continue to provide exceptional services.
Employ Your Mind is an innovative vocational rehabilitation project aimed at developing the employability skills of inpatients and outpatients of Fife mental health services. Recently replicated in Australia, through close partnership working, the aim of Employ Your Mind is to move students closer towards accessing more mainstream job-seeking services. Employ Your Mind began in June 2012 and we have secured substantial further funding and expect to continue the project beyond March 2020. The Team Lead will manage a team of four learning coaches, and be part of an internationally recognised, world-leading programme delivering cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) and employability skills. Working closely with other Team Leads, you will be part of a number of projects working with students and clients with complex mental health problems, at different stages on their journey towards employment. The role involves leading on the design and delivery of group-based and individual employability and personal development interventions, work placement sourcing/support and delivery and design of CRT to a wide range of participants who study over a 6-month period. The role also involves writing and delivering CRT and bespoke Employ Your Mind training to other professional teams.
As Team Lead, you will have a good working knowledge of the third sector and be used to working in diverse partnerships. With previous management experience, you will be skilled at presenting to various audiences and have knowledge of outcome reporting to funders and preparing reports. The Team Lead could be a qualified occupational therapist or be from a psychology, mental health nursing, clinical social care or other similar background and will be familiar with client-centred tools which have a broad focus on occupational performance across all activities of daily living, including self-care, leisure and productivity and personal life circumstances. You should have some knowledge of CRT and be experienced delivering a range of employability based soft skills to both individuals and groups with complex, severe and enduring mental health conditions. Co-delivering elements of the accredited training programme, the Team Lead will develop new content for the coursework. Based in our offices in Glenrothes with occasional travel, you are also expected to carry out a proportion of work in NHS inpatient/outpatient settings within Fife, with patients with complex mental health conditions, on a one-to-one basis.
Candidates will be required to undergo a PVG check. Salary from £27,635-£32,974 depending on experience
The closing date for applications is Monday 8th April at 5 pm.
Interviews will be held on 25th April at FEAT offices in Glenrothes
Application packs are available here. Please do not send a C.V.
If you wish to discuss the role before applying please contact: Wendy@feat.org.uk or Duncan@feat.org.uk or call 01592 759371
You're chance to join an award-winning team!
FEAT LAND TOP PRIZE IN "VOLUNTARY SECTOR OSCARS"
London audience applaud FEAT's work
Twenty-five years after our foundation, Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) have won a Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Award for its work supporting those with mental health problems to find employment.
The prize, presented on Tuesday evening (5th March) at a prestigious venue in Central London, includes a £10,000 grant and promotion of the organisation’s vital work before an audience of influential politicians, journalists and philanthropists. The Awards are also known as the Oscars for the Voluntary Sector.
According to the Scottish Government, around one in three people are estimated to be affected by mental illness in any one year. Many of these struggle to find or maintain stable employment.
Duncan Mitchell, General Manager of FEAT, said: "Day in, day out we get to work with people experiencing severe disadvantages in life due to their mental health and help them to unlock their ability and talent to overcome their daily challenges in life. It is an honour to help them on their journeys.
“Winning this award is an enormous boost to everyone associated with FEAT, particularly to the staff and volunteers who constantly go far beyond the call of duty to achieve life-changing outcomes for the people who inspire us every day.
“This year we are celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary and what a way to mark it. We hope this award will lead on to even bigger and better things for us and the amazing people we serve.”
Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said “FEAT innovates new techniques and approaches to solving some of the most pressing issues in the field of mental health. Among these, the inability to find and maintain regular work is paramount.“The dignity of work and the confidence it instils are crucial to solving mental health problems.“The CSJ recognises FEAT’s innovation, efficiency and compassion in helping people find work and rebuild their lives. We wish them another twenty-five years of stellar achievement.”
Video footage from the Awards, featuring FEAT staff is available by clicking here
About the CSJ Awards
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) exists to prevent and tackle poverty across Britain.
The CSJ Awards is an annual, high profile award ceremony that honours the best grassroot, poverty-fighting charities and social enterprises from across Britain.
There are five categories for which prizes are awarded: addiction support and recovery, family support, work and employment, education and social mobility, and crime prevention and rehabilitation.
The five winners each receive a £10,000 grant and are profiled in front of hundreds of leading figures from across the country. This enables them to scale their impact and gives senior politicians, philanthropists and business and charity leaders the chance to be inspired by and learn from them.
It gives award winners unique opportunities to connect with other people passionate about furthering the cause of social justice in Britain.
L-R: William Mowbray (FEAT/Fife IPS), Baroness Mone, Duncan Mitchell (FEAT), Carole Walker
WE ARE HIRING!
Fife IPS Service - Employment Specialist
The Fife IPS Partnership is seeking 2 full-time Employment Specialists using the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach, working in partnership with Fife Employment Access Trust and Fife Health & Social Care Partnership and with clients with severe and enduring mental health problems across Fife.
This is an innovative project which started in April 2015 has secured substantial further funding from Opportunities Fife and the European Social Investment Fund and expects to continue the project beyond March 2020.
Employment Specialist (IPS)
35 hours per week, £23,713 per annum
The successful candidate will proactively manage a caseload of individuals who have experienced mental health problems, are unemployed and/or currently off work. You will deliver the IPS evidence-based model of vocational rehabilitation for people with enduring mental health conditions. Working directly with relevant stakeholders: the individual, NHS Fife/Fife Health & Social Care Partnership; Job Centre Plus; Fife Council; GPs; employers; colleges and Occupational Health to enable individuals to gain and retain employment.
You will be part of an enthusiastic team offering an inclusive, non-judgemental approach to support, and empower people to flourish by managing their mental health for life.
Application packs are available from info@feat.org.uk or telephone 01592 759371 or 01592 751859 or download the pack here. The closing date is 15th March 2019
25th anniversary year
Happy Birthday to us!
For our 25th anniversary, we are holding our AGM on 12th March 2019 in Rothes Halls, Glenrothes.
It would be great to see past staff and board members, service users and volunteers come along and take a quick step back down memory lane and also hear about current exciting plans and developments, as well as the Fife premiere of a short film being made focussing on FEAT.
If you would like to come along, please get in touch as soon as possible, space (and sandwiches) will be limited!
AGM Invitation
Latest News
Awards
We are celebrating success in 2019, having been shortlisted for two prestigious awards, locally and nationally.
We are a finalist in the Centre for Social Justice Awards (Work Category) and also the Fife Business Awards (Innovation) category, with both holding their ceremonies during March 2019 when we'll learn our fate.
This follows the success of two staff members in December 2018 who took prizes in the Fife Business Diversity Awards for overcoming barriers and successfully gaining and holding down employment with us. Arran Ritchie took the Bronze Award and Catherine Grubb won Gold at the ceremony - huge congratulations to them both!
The Centre for Social Justice Award ceremony takes place on March 5th in London. The CSJ Awards is an annual, high profile award ceremony that honours the best grassroot, poverty-fighting charities and social enterprises from across Britain. Five winners will receive a £10,000 grant and be profiled in front of hundreds of leading figures from across the country and we're excited to be a part of it this year.
The Fife Business Awards ceremony takes place on 29th March and will hosted by well-known personality Fred McAuley. We are in the running for an award for our excellence in creativity and innovation.
To win either of these awards will be difficult - we're up against stiff competition indeed, however this is a great way to celebrate our 25th Anniversary whatever the result!
Arran Ritchie and Catherine Grubb at the Fife Business Diversity Awards
Exemplary status for Fife ips
One step closer to Centre of Excellence Status
At our latest external fidelity review, we are proud to confirm the Fife IPS Service moved from "good" to "exemplary" standard. We continue to be the highest-ranked IPS Service in Scotland and our aim is to maintain exemplary standard for the next 2 years, if we do manage to achieve that, we will then become Scotland's first Centre of Excellence for IPS!
We still have a lot of hard work to do to reach that point but we are well up for the challenge!
Congratulations to the team for this achievement - the Fidelity Review is robust and takes place over several days, so relieved it's over for another year and delighted with the outcome!
Fife IPS Employment Specialists (Frankie, Alex & William)